A construction debris fire this morning at the town landfill was slowed by a new sprinkler system, Nantucket Fire Chief Mark McDougal said.
“Having a system that activated right away saved us a lot of time and effort,” McDougal said.
Fires at the town landfill have, in the past, taken hours and even days to douse but a new building for the construction and building debris that included the sprinkler system made a big difference, he said.
“This wasn’t a big one,” McDougal said about the fire. No one was injured.
The fire department was called at around 9 a.m. to the town property at 188 Madaket Road, McDougal said. The fire started in the far right corner of the building, and the cause has not yet been determined, he said. Possible causes include oily rags, discarded smoking materials or internal combustion, he said.
The fire department was on the scene for two and one-half hours.
A small fire was reported around 10 a.m. Thursday at the General James M. Gavin Power Plant in Cheshire.
The power plant is owned American Electric Power.
According to Tammy Ridout, manager of media relations for AEP, the fire started in the generator step-up transformer, which is what takes the generator voltage and increases it to match the transmission line voltage so that power can leave the plant.
The plant is connected to the grid by 765 kilovolt transmission lines — the highest rated voltage in the U.S.
Ridout said that Meigs County fire stations, including Middleport, Pomeroy and Rutland fire departments, were called to the scene, but the flames were contained before they arrived. The fire was extinguished by a deluge system, or an activated sprinkler system, she said.
There were no injuries reported.
Middleport Fire Chief Jeff Darst said the fire occurred in what is known as Unit 2, where the tranformers are kept behind the plant where they can’t be viewed from the road. However, smoke could be seen rising above the plant from passing motorists. Darst said the fire was contained by the Gavin Fire Brigade by the time he and his crew arrived, but that his crew, as well as Pomeroy and Rutland, all helped extinguish the flames.
The DeKalb Fire Department responded to an apartment fire at 832 Ridge Drive in DeKalb at 11:09 a.m. Saturday. The cause of the fire is still under investigation, said Jeff McMaster, deputy fire chief, later that afternoon.
“When firefighters got there, there was a light smoke coming from the bathroom,” McMaster said. “When they got in, the sprinklers were on.” The sprinkler system had kept the flames contained and the firefighters were able to put the rest out upon arrival, McMaster said.
No one was home at the time, McMaster said. A neighbor had seen the smoke, heard the apartment’s fire alarm and made the call. There were no injuries, McMaster said. He estimated the damage at about $5,000.
Reporting on lives and property saved by fire sprinklers